Meaning of TERMINATE

[v] bring to an end or halt; "She ended their friendship when she found out that he had once been convicted of a crime"; "The attack on Poland terminated the relatively peaceful period after WWI"

[v] terminate the employment of; "The boss fired his secretary today"; "The company terminated 25% of its workers"

[v] have an end, in a temporal, spatial, or quantitative sense; either spatial or metaphorical; "the bronchioles terminate in a capillary bed"; "Your rights stop where you infringe upon the rights of other"; "My property ends by the bushes"; "The symphony ends in a pianissimo"

[v] be the end of; be the last of concluding part of; "This sad scene ended the movie"

\Ter"mi*nate\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Terminated}; p.
pr. & vb. n. {Terminating}.] [L. terminatus, p. p. of
terminare. See {Term}.]
1. To set a term or limit to; to form the extreme point or
side of; to bound; to limit; as, to terminate a surface by
a line.
2. To put an end to; to make to cease; as, to terminate an
effort, or a controversy.
3. Hence, to put the finishing touch to; to bring to
completion; to perfect.
During this interval of calm and prosperity, he
[Michael Angelo] terminated two figures of slaves,
destined for the tomb, in an incomparable style of
art. --J. S.
Harford.

\Ter"mi*nate\, v. i.
1. To be limited in space by a point, line, or surface; to
stop short; to end; to cease; as, the torrid zone
terminates at the tropics.
2. To come to a limit in time; to end; to close.
The wisdom of this world, its designs and efficacy,
terminate on zhis side heaven. --South.